Marley One Launches The First Global Functional And Psychedelic Mushroom Brand
Bob Marley’s family want to sell you some mushrooms.
The Marley family has partnered up with Silo Wellness, a leading global psychedelics company, to launch Marley One, the first global functional and psychedelic mushroom consumer brand.
The initial product offering will include a range of functional mushroom tinctures, including species such as cordyceps, lion’s mane, chaga, reishi and turkey tail that offer a range of unique health and wellness benefits, from immunity and gut health to cognitive function and sleep enhancement. The Company intends to launch a psychedelic mushroom product line under the Marley name later this year, to be followed by additional functional mushroom products including gummies, capsules and cosmetics.
If you’ve gotten this far, the first thing you might be asking yourself is “What’s a functional mushroom?”
Edible mushrooms like porcini and shiitake are probably something you know about, as are psychedelic mushrooms that might provide hallucinations — functional mushrooms are a bit different.
“They’re a wonderful, natural health supplement,” Silo Wellness CEO Douglas K. Gordon told me from Jamaica. “They have properties that help with different functions— everything from immunity to digestion to focus.”
Functional mushrooms were a $46 billion industry in 2020, and that number is growing annually. While you’re not going to get “high” taking any of the supplements, you will potentially be able to get some health benefits from taking them. Think of it sort of like a multi-vitamin, in that it’s something you would take every day, but over time you’ll start to potentially see positive improvements to your health from taking them.
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INN: Psychedelics Outlook 2021: How Far Can This Industry Go?
Click here to read the previous psychedelics outlook.
With interest in psychedelics investing starting to gain steam, companies and experts continue to point to the long road ahead in 2021 and beyond for the market.
Investor patience and belief in the sector will be tested as companies continue the arduous task of proving the efficacy of psychedelic drugs. While money-making opportunities will appear, new drug development programs will still take significant time.
Following the most critical year for psychedelics investment, how will 2021 stack up in the grand scheme and what’s at stake for investors?
Here the Investing News Network (INN) offers investors a look at what’s to come for the new segment in 2021 directly from experts and those involved in this space.
Psychedelics outlook 2021: What should investors know before diving in?
New marketplaces can be challenging to jump into, and psychedelics is no different. So far executives and experts agree in recommending a long-term approach to investors.
“Drug development takes time and is capital intensive, so investors should focus on those companies that are sufficiently capitalized and have a team with a strong track record to bring these treatments to market,” Doug Drysdale, CEO of Cybin (NEO:CYBN), told INN.
Drysdale’s comment hints at the psychedelics industry’s biggest identifier, which is that it is most closely related to the often slow-paced life science sector. According to one executive, this means companies’ plans will require significant time to develop.
“In many regards, we, and many other companies in the space, are traditional biotech, pharmaceutical and drug discovery firms, advancing psychedelic molecules through the conventional and established scientific, regulatory and legal framework required to bring any drug to a mass market,” said Timothy Ko, CEO at Entheon Biomedical (CSE:ENBI).
While companies may still perform as they work through these long pipelines, many experts cautioned that investors will not see a new rush similar to the one seen previously in Canada’s cannabis arena.
“It is a drug discovery, mental health, biotech play — not recreational and not cannabis,” Bill O’Hara, managing partner at LACG Capital and former managing director of institutional equity sales with Haywood Securities, explained to INN.
Ko agreed with O’Hara, telling INN that he thinks one of the biggest misconceptions in the psychedelics industry is that it is similar to the cannabis space.
Kelsey Ramsden, president and CEO of Mind Cure Health (CSE:MCUR,OTCQB:MCURF), said investors should pay close attention to the revenue horizons for companies in the space, and should also look for strong management teams and unique strategies.
“I think this will help investors land safely with companies who will create realizable value,” she said.
Psychedelics outlook 2021: Could big acquisitions be on the way in 2021?
With increased investor attention and potential upcoming medical approvals quickly changing the realities of the psychedelics space, one question has started to gain steam in this market: How likely is it for a big-name pharmaceutical entity to eye an early entry?
“It’s sort of becoming impossible to ignore in terms of the scientific evidence that’s accruing … and the potential that these compounds have for treating mental health conditions,” Adele Byrne, senior analyst with drug research firm Prohibition Partners, told INN.
During an online forum in August, Kris Miks, partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada, went so far as to say that major entries will be born out of companies’ desire to not be left behind.
“I think there’s going to be more of an appetite and more of an interest from large pharma to get into the space early and see if they can get involved,” Miks said at the time.
While the industry awaits a potential entry, it is undeniable that the sector has already seen significant investment from large figures in the market at large. Players like Peter Thiel, Kevin O’Leary and Bruce Linton have all thrown their support behind the psychedelics opportunity.
“Psychedelics are finally having their day in the sun — not as recreational drugs but as medicines to address society’s problems with mental illness and addiction — and I’m one of the many Wall Street investors who are now backing them,” O’Leary wrote in an op-ed.
When it comes to predictions, Leonard Lerer, CEO and founder of Back of the Yards Algae Sciences, a sustainable biotechnology firm that has committed to the benefits of entheogens, said 2021 may bring big opportunities for mergers and acquisitions.
“In 2021, we will see the first serious moves by the biopharmaceutical giants in this space,” Lerer said.
Josh Bartch, CEO of Mydecine Innovations Group (CSE:MYCO), told INN he sees next year as an opportunity for knowledge about psychedelic substances to grow.
“We see 2021 as a year of progress and continued public acceptance. With numerous clinical and R&D initiatives happening globally, much-needed information and discoveries will be uncovered during the upcoming year,” Bartch said.
Psychedelics outlook 2021: Investor takeaway
The psychedelics investment market is on pace to keep expanding and commanding the attention of more investors in 2021. With this uptick in attention, the industry will have to continue delivering results and proof of its promise in treating various mental health conditions.
As with any new market, it’s important for investors to remember that these are still the early days, and with this particular space the key theme is how much time it will take to mature.
“We have only just begun, there are a lot of companies entering the space who will not be here a year from now — the beginning of a new segment is always like this,” Ramsden said.
Don’t forget to follow @INN_LifeScience for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Bryan Mc Govern, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: Cybin and Mind Cure Health are clients of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.
The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.
INN: Psychedelic Trends 2020: The Heat is On
2020 marked the beginning of the psychedelics investment story as the capital markets fully embraced the alternative drug sector.
The idea of investing in a psychedelic drug company may have sounded unlikely before 2020.
But now investors are enjoying the dawn of a new alternative drug market that is trying to capitalize on the medical benefits of psychedelic substances.
In 2020, investors saw the arrival of a number of new public companies that are exploring various pathways in the psychedelics space, primarily operating under the promise of new medicine.
Why Are Psychedelics And Mining Companies Merging In Canada?
Since the first psychedelic companies went public in March, an array of other psychedelic start-ups followed along in a trend that can now be safely referred to as the “Psychedelic Rush.”
In the last two months, at least five different psychedelics companies announced plans to go public in Canada, including Cybin Corp., Entheon Biomedical, Novamind Ventures, Silo Wellness and Havn Life Sciences.
With the exception of Havn, each chose to go public by way of reverse take-overs with companies from the mining sector.
As was the case with the boom of cannabis in 2013, mining companies driving the junior capital markets in Canada have laid the grounds for the development of high-risk venture industries.
Today, psychedelics are taking the lead.
Psychedelics, Reverse Acquisitions And… Mining?
What seems like an unusual combination of industries is actually a run-on-the-mill event for Canadian capital markets.
Richard Carleton, CEO of the Canadian Stock Exchange, explained that the Canadian small-cap space has been largely focused on early-stage mining exploration, including oil and gas.
These companies have two possible outcomes. They either find something worth drilling and raise additional capital to develop a mine, or they don’t find anything.
“And so you have basically a group of companies that have raised some money, explored a property, didn’t succeed and now the management team and the shareholders are looking for another opportunity,” Carleton said.
That’s where psychedelics come in. These companies are trying to raise money quickly, and going public through a reverse acquisition is one of the fastest ways to do it.
In a reverse takeover (RTO), a private company looking to go public will merge with a public company in order to bypass the lengthy and expensive process of an initial public offering.
Alan Friedman, Principal at Bayline Capital Partners adds that the mining companies are available, but they’re not mining companies anymore.
“Once upon a time they were mining operating companies. Today, they’re defunct. They’re just sitting there listed on the stock exchange. And they’re good vehicles to reverse other assets into.”
For Friedman, the mining sector has “hot” cycles that last about seven years.
In 2013, one of these cycles came to an end. That moment happened to coincide with the cannabis boom. Cannabis companies were looking for ways to go public and the mining, oil and gas sector had left the perfect riverbed for a high-risk, junior capital investment market.
The same thing is happening with psychedelics.
“When you see psychedelics come along in 2020, it’s the new hot, trendy business. They can raise money, but they have to go public quick,” says Friedman. “Because a lot of the money that comes in is based on the fact they go public, because those investors like to see liquidity.”
Going Public in Canada: IPOs Vs. RTOs
According to Friedman, the quickest way for a company to go public is by way of a reverse takeover, because the vehicle and the shareholders are already there.
“80% of the companies in Canada go public by way of a reverse takeover,” Carleton said. “So it’s a very well-traveled path.”
It’s also less expensive.
“It could be a good few hundred thousand bucks cheaper,” Friedman added. “And it could be a few months quicker.”
Friedman is currently working with a private psychedelics company called Mind Health, which is in the process of negotiating a reverse takeover, and plans to go public in three months.
RTOs, however, also come with their fair share of challenges.
“When you’re switching industries, the shareholders are not in any way necessarily interested in that story or in that sector. And what can happen in a number of instances is that at the first sign of any kind of buying interest, once the company has gone public, those shareholders tend to sell so that it’s almost like there’s a built-in overhang in the company’s cap table,” Carleton explained.
As a result, when the company goes public, it’s harder to see the same kind of exuberant price moves seen when companies that go public by way of an IPO.
Also, with an RTO, the new company inherits all of the liabilities associated with the former company. And of course, in the case of mining companies, there may well be environmental issues, says Carleton.
It’s crucial to do due diligence and proper research an RTO partner before committing to a deal, Friedman advised. Although — in every case — there’s risk.
Nonetheless, RTOs are the preferred method of going public for small-cap companies in the junior markets/IPOs are reserved for larger, more established players who typically go after senior equity markets.
What To Look For In An RTO Partner?
Cybin CEO Paul Glavine is currently in the process of doing a reverse takeover with a mining company called Clarmin Explorations.
Cybin achieved full support from over 60% of Clarmin’s existing shareholders, Glavine said in an email. In this case, Clarmin’s management team will step out to let Cybin’s team on the helm.
Other psychedelics companies, like Entheon Biomedical — which merged with mining company MPV Exploration — looked for added value in their partner company. CEO Timothy Ko said MPV provided more than just a means to trade their stock on the open market.
“There was no shortage of interested, I guess, ‘shell’ partners. I think Canada has a plentitude of those opportunities available. But ultimately, it was a process of discernment where we had to say, ‘okay, the nature of the investor and the management on the other side, do they have a strategic value to us?'” says Ko.
Entheon found that MPV’s investors could add value to the company by bringing in their shared experiences in biotech, pharma and healthcare, and the management team could offer its experience raising money in the public markets.
Picture based on photos by Photo by Dominik Vanyi and Егор Камелев on Unsplash.